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Joe Fischer

On 19 Nov 2006 01:43:53 -0800, wrote:

Anthony Matonak wrote:
What you might view as advancement in regulations others might view as
over-regulation. You may view our (USA) regulations as behind the times
while others may view it as offering more freedom and a less intrusive,
even totalitarian, government.

I had heard, though its not my area of knowledge, that US codes
dictated certain ways buildings could be built, and nowt else was
permitted.

I am not aware of any "US" code, the federal government
must leave certain things native to individual states up to those
states and local government, according to the constitution.

There is a national electrical code, and a number of
things the federal government is involved in, but local
codes control buildings, and local (city, usually) government
issues the building permits.

In the UK otoh, no building method is stipulated, one only
has to meet an excessive amount of performance regulations, and with
the more esoteric building types, prove one has met them.

Outside city limits in the US, people are often free
to build anything, but the power companies may not
turn power on in new construction without an inspection.

Roofs and flammability are a real issue here, with a lot of house fires
and terraces being very popular. If we had cedar roofs there would be
many more deaths - we learnt that the hard way in 1666.

My, you have a long memory. :-)

Cedar "shakes" are popular in the southwest US,
but fire insurance is extra.

The US has
several times the land per person, making this much less of an issue
there I would expect.
NT

In row houses, there is a problem, and I guess
it is row houses or buildings built to the lot line and
in contact or close enough for fire to jump is likely
the reason for the problems in 1666.

Most local governments here require a certain
distance between houses, and inspection and performance,
so that there is not a lot of buildings unfinished.

At the moment, a number of places are in
turmoil, with some organization like a league of
cities exerting influence and pressure to get some
standardization in not only construction, but also
maintenance and appearance, with nuisance
ordinances as leverage.

Connecting buildings can save energy,
but a good designer will put a fire wall all the
way up from the ground to well above the roof.

Joe Fischer